Maccabi Ramat Hen 56 - Elizur Ramla 75
Here’s Shlomi’s report, as I was lucky enough not to attend the game:
Ramla’s tough defense, incredible depth, great players at every
position and
the coach that drives the team wild was way too much for Ramat Hen, and
maybe everyone else, to handle.
Ramla wasted no time and led 18-8 after 1, as the local team led by
last
season’s 2 league leading scorers couldn’t hit water from a boat. Ramla
kept
rolling and went up 28-16 as only Edwina Brown & Tawona Alhaleem scored
for
Ramat Hen.
Ayana Walker scored 11 in the first half as Ramla took a 37-28 lead to
the
locker room after Ramat Hen improved slightly towards the end of the
half.
But that trend didn’t continue, as Ramat Hen put up yet another 8 point
quarter. Monica Veslovski was hitting from everywhere, the Ramla D got
countless steals and broke the game wide open with a 17-2 run that made
it
54-30. The lead grew to a humiliating 73-42, and Alhaleem did some
damage
control in garbage time to set the final margin.
For Ramla:
Ayana Walker 17 pts
Veslovsky 15 pts.
Ina Gourevitch 13
pts
Amber Hall 12 pts & 8 rebs
Luda Rom 6 pts
Tal Salz 5 pts.
For Ramat Hen:
Alhaleem 25 pts
Brown 15 pts
Nomi Kolodny 5 pts
Plenette
Pierson 4 pts.
Hapoel Petah Tikva 65 – Ramat Hasharon 76
Petah Tikva managed to keep it close for most of the game despite
playing
sloppy, but Ramat Hasharon and Gunta Basko who was very good knew when
to
put the peddle to the metal.
The visitors scored the game’s first 7 points, but a 9-2 Petah Tikva
run
gave them an 11-9 lead, with 4 minutes to go in the 1st. Tiffany
Listenbee’s
3rd foul along with 5 points by Basko gave Ramat Hasharon the lead
back, and
they were up 16-15 after 1.
Chanel Wright-Green put the locals up 24-20, but Michelle Snow scored
Ramat
Hasharon’s next 6 points. Anat Goldberg and Sharon Zeevi made it 31-26,
as
Petah Tikva kept missing and turning it over. Listenbee sealed the half
with
a hoop at the buzzer, as Petah Tikva trailed 30-35.
Petah Tikva got off to a good start in the 2nd half. A three pointer by
Tamar Maoz made it 38-34, and Petah Tikva replied with a 10-4 run to
take a
44-42 lead after 2 free throws by Molly Creamer. Ramat Hasharon
answered
with a 17-5 run to finish the quarter, including 8 straight points by
Basko.
Ramat Hasharon led 59-49 after 3, and all Petah Tikva could do was
trade
baskets till the final buzzer.
For Ramat Hasharon:
Gunta Basko – 20 pts, 11 rebs (7 offensives), 4 steals
Michelle Snow – 17 pts
Tamar Maoz – 13 pts
Aluma Goren – 7 pts
Octavia
Blue – 6 pts
Lili Latinovic – 2 pts & 9 ast.
For Petah Tikva:
Tiffany Listenbee – 26 pts & 8 rebs
Chanel Wright-Green – 19 pts & 8 rebs
Rivi Grinboym – 8 pts, 6 steals, 6 TOs
Molly Creamer – 7 pts, 6 rebs, 9 TOs
Elizur Holon 76 – ASA Jerusalem 83
Written by Rafi Zilberman:
Jerusalem led 19-16 after a tight first quarter in which no team was
able to
build a significant lead. Jerusalem went up 26-17 in the 2nd but Holon
came
back quickly, as Sivan Balalis hit a 3 to cut the visitors lead to just
34-35 at the half.
Jerusalem raced to a 43-36 lead early in the 3rd, but Holon replied
again as
three pointers by Kristina Covington and Balalis ended a 13-1 run and
gave
the locals a 47-44 lead with 3 minutes to play in the quarter. Holon
led
53-52 after 3.
Both teams kept stroking 3’s in a defense-less 4th quarter as Holon
took its
biggest lead of the game, 72-64, with 3 minutes to play. Holon’s
serious
foul trouble helped Jerusalem back into the game as Balalis fouled out
with
her team up 72-68. A High Schooler point guard took over for Holon who
continued to look bad and get called for everything, while Ayelet Cohen
ended Jerusalem’s 15-1 run with a 3 that gave her team a 77-73 lead.
Holon’s
desperation shots wouldn’t go and Jerusalem got a big road win over
Holon’s
fighting bunch.
For Jerusalem:
Valerie Muoneke 23 pts
Ivana Tuvic 18 pts
Ayelet Cohen 17 pts
Tijana
Rus
14 pts.
For Holon:
Sivan Balalis 23 pts
Kristina Covington 21 pts
Bnei Yehuda 65 – Hapoel Haifa/Motzkin 82
A close 1st quarter ended with a 22-19 Haifa/Motzkin lead. The visitors
suffered from lack of concentration and didn’t capitalize on Beni
Yehuda’s
turnovers in the 2nd quarter, as the locals fought to a 34-34 tie at
the
half.
Haifa/Motzkin looked sharper in the 2nd half and used Mostafina’s
threes and
Bnei Yehuda’s turnovers to win their 2nd game of the season.
For Haifa/Motzkin:
Yelena Mostafina – 28 pts (6 threes)
Nakia Sanford – 21 pts, 14 rebs
Lynn Pride – 20 pts, 10 rebs
Crystal Givens – 10 pts
Adi Kindler – 5 pts
Laine Selwyn – 4 pts
For Bnei Yehuda:
DeTrina White 22 pts
Leigh Aziz 12 pts
Kelley Gibson
9
pts.
Maccabi Ashdod 68 – Maccabi Raanana 80
With Sarit Arbel in street clothes and Ebony Tanner leaving with an
ankle
injury during the first quarter and coming back in the 4th, Ashdod
didn’t
have much left.
For Raanana:
Hana Haleli 21 pts
Ednisha Curry 20 pts
Susan Murray 13
pts.
For Ashdod:
Jo Ruth Woods & Hen Shtain 17 pts each
Vika Rudovski 11
pts.
Round 2 MVP – Ayana Walker (Ramla)
Ayana Walker may be as skinny as a skeleton, but very efficient under
the
baskets. A soft midrange jumper is exactly what Ramla needed to
complement
Amber Hall. Walker won the WNBA championship with Detroit during the
summer,
and will try to lead Ramla all the way in Israel.
Round 2’s First Team:
Monica Veslovski – She’s the least talked about Ramla player, but she
has
delivered for the 2nd straight game with 15 points on good percentages
against Ramat Hen.
Ayana Walker - It’s tough to stand out playing next to Amber Hall, but
Walker found her spot with 17 pts and 9 rebounds.
Yelena Mostafina – Haifa/Motzkin has four great Americans but Mostafina
was
the one to stand out vs. Bnei Yehuda with 28 pts including six threes.
Gunta Basko – She was everywhere last night, rebounding, getting
steals,
scoring, simply a one woman wrecking crew.
Hana Haleli – The warrior from Raanana scored 21 pts vs. Ashdod. Haleli
earned a spot in the starting lineup and has been a pleasant surprise.
The Standings:
1) Haifa/Motzkin 2-0
2) Ramla 2-0
3) Ramat Hasharon 2-0
4) Bnei Yehuda 1-1
5) Raanana 1-1
6) Ramat Hen 1-1
7) Jerusalem 1-1
8) Ashdod 0-2
9) Petah Tikva 0-2
10) Holon 0-2